Although bean sprouts have always been a popular food item in the orient, recent dietary changes have now made a variety of sprouts very popular grocery store items, including, for example, alfalfa, wheatgrass, sunflower and snowpea. Usual practice is to grow the sprouts in large, shallow trays. The resulting sprouts with a mat of roots is divided into portions, and each portion is inserted into a transparent, closed package for shipment and retail display. The portioning is labor intensive and inconsistent. Another usual practice grows the sprouts in individual trays. A separate transparent top portion snaps onto the bottom tray to complete the package. The individual trays are provided with bottom perforations so that irrigating water can enter and drain during the growing phase. Perforations on the package are essential to permit air exchange so that the plants will remain healthy and growing for extended shelf life and freshness. Unfortunately, perforations in the lower portion of the package permit entrance of contaminated materials. Display tables in grocery stores are often sprayed with water, which can carry unpleasant and even dangerous materials into the product. There is no easy indicator of contamination of this sort.
A packaging system that would be more sanitary while permitting growing in portions would be safer, less labor intensive and less expensive.